State health officials are ready to commence the application procedure after a highly anticipated decision from the Florida Supreme Court in July upholding a 2017 law implementing a constitutional amendment for 2016 to legalize medical cannabis. The court upheld the law's requirement that medical cannabis operators deal with all aspects of the business, including culture, processing, and distribution—instead of concentrating on each element.
The state of Florida is reviewing the 74 applications that were filed for the additional 22 vertically integrated licenses.
A proposed constitutional amendment for recreational marijuana is currently under review by the Florida Supreme Court and has received enough signatures to get on the 2024 ballot. Florida Attorney General Ashely Moody has urged the justices to reject the language, and states that the amendment is misleading.
August 2023 | Planet 13 announced its acquisition of VidaCanna for $49MM
February 2022 | MedMen announced a sale of substantially all Florida assets for $83MM
September 2021 | Planet 13 announced its acquisition of Harvest's Florida license
August 2021 | Eaze announced its acquisition of Green Dragon, becoming America's largest cannabis delivery service
July 2021 | Eaze announced its opening of two dispensaries in Florida
January 2021 | Cresco announced its acquisition of Bluma Wellness Inc.
December 2020 | AYR announced its acquisition of Liberty Health Services
November 2020 | Verano merged with AltMed
Florida is one of the industry's most limited and unique license structures. With only 24 vertically integrated licenses for ~22MM people and growing patient population, Florida licenses are among the industry's most valuable.
These licenses are unique because they can only sell what they produce, requiring robust vertical integration from farm to flame. The current market leader, Trulieve, boasts 126 active dispensaries and millions of square feet of cultivation. Its competitors lag far behind with fewer than half the number of active dispensaries and cultivation space. In a bid to compete with Trulieve, competitors are slashing flower prices in a race to the bottom. The resulting price wars beg the question of whether top MSOs can sustain profitability while waiting for recreational adult-use to pass in the sunshine state.
With population increasing by the day, the state is undeniably poised for explosive market growth upon recreational adult-use legalization.
*22 vertically integrated licenses operate 356 dispensaries and each license can each open unlimited dispensaries.